The Dos and Don’ts of Bringing Dogs to Work

Life in a Pet Friendly Office

Pet friendly offices are becoming more and more common, as many business owners find that their employees are more relaxed when they have their pets around. For all of us dog lovers, as office perks go, this one is tough to top.

Now let's talk reality. Deciding to open the office door to employee pets requires a little oversight and planning if everything is going to keep running smoothly.

Businesses with clear cut rules are better at keeping chaos to a minimum, and most employees would agree that dog free-for-alls aren't great for productivity.

Here at PetRelocation, we have a dog committee (they have meetings and everything) who has outlined rules for pets at work:

• Dogs must be at least 2 years old

• They should be up to date on all vaccines and flea treatments

• And in terms of behavior: no idle barkers or accident-prone pets allowed

We also maintain an online "dog calendar" where employees sign up in advance (we keep it to one dog per day, or two if they're in the same family).

As our team continues to grow and and more dogs are added to the extended PetRelo family, we've found that having a canine code of conduct works pretty well. We love bringing our dogs to work, and keeping things fun but structured is the way to go.

Does your workplace allow dogs? If so, are there established rules in place to help maintain a professional and productive environment?

Share your thoughts and stories with us here in the comments or via Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram for scenes from around our Austin, TX office -- many of which include our favorite office dogs (who are usually behaving very nicely).

Thanks to PetRelocation Specialist Maegan for sharing the dramatic reenactments above, and to her dogs Benni and Toby for illustrating both ends of the "dogs at work" spectrum.